Life can really get miserable whenever you have a failed hard drive or any storage media for that instance. It can get even worse when you do not have a backup of all that data in the drive. In such instances, you need not necessarily consign your drive to the trash bin.     

Though there is a possibility of data recovery failure in 5-10% of these types of cases, a data recovery specialist can help you recover the data. With advancement of technology, be assured that your hopes to retrieve your data are still alive. The scope of this article is to discuss the various scenarios that a data recovery specialist comes across in his day-to-day profession. We shall also be discussing those rare scenarios in which data has been recovered.

 When data Recovery becomes Impossible

 Though data recovery professionals are successful in 90% of the cases, there are instances where things are beyond control. Some of these instances have been listed below:

• At times, the physical damage caused to the components of a drive present internally might be severe. This includes scenarios when the platters present within the drive have been scratched by the read/write arm of the hard drive head. In these cases, the salvage of data almost becomes impossible.
•  These types of damages are usually caused by the clients themselves or by the inexperienced technicians hired by them. The tools used by them can cause severe damage to the logical structure of the data thus making it impossible for it to be retrieved. These types of procedures can also harm the internal components of the drive.
•  At times, when people attempt to open up the storage media themselves, it gives way for dust to settle on them. This can cause further damage to the media.
•  Another instance where data recovery almost becomes impossible is when the surface layers of the platters within the drive are corroded. Usually, when air or liquid enters into these regions, they cause oxidation of the metallic surface of the platters. This completely destroys the media recording layer thus making data recovery almost impossible.
• In certain laptops, the platters within the hard drive are made of glass and not aluminium. So, when some kind of sabotage is done to the hard drive these glass platters easily break, thus making data recovery a total impossibility.

Rare Instances Where Data has been Recovered

• One such instance in which data recovery professionals proved their stand was when a laptop slipped and fell down from the terrace of a tall building. Though the laptop was smashed beyond recognition, data recovery professionals were able to circumvent the mechanical damage caused to the drive and retrieve the data from within.
• Another such instance was when data recovery professionals received a hard drive in a very bad state damaged owing to a fire. There was soot that had settled in the internal components of the drive. Data recovery professionals did a wonderful job in retrieving the data.
• A person who had gone on a vacation accidentally dropped his camera into the lake while travelling in a boat. After three hours of frantic search, the digital camera was finally found. Though the camera was rendered useless, professionals in this field were successful in restoring the photographs from the memory card. This just goes to show that these professionals can work in almost any kind of media and help you restore your valuable data.

Data Recovery – How to React in case you Encounter a Data Loss

• Whenever you feel that you have encountered a data loss, ensure that the media is totally inaccessible that you will not be able to access data through normal means.
• If you feel that the data present within the drive is not all that important, you can drop the plan of recovering the data.
• On the other hand, if you feel that the data is vital, do not attempt to retrieve it on your own. Doing so, you might end up doing further physical damage to your drive. Contact a suitable data recovery specialist company in your area or online to have this issue fixed.

Data Recovery – The Last Word

I always believe in the adage that “Prevention is better than cure”. If I were you, I would just follow two steps: First, I would gather the necessary information on how to safeguard my storage media; second, knowing that drive crashes and data loss are inevitable, I would rather prefer taking backups and installing recovery software of my data from time to time.

Article: Data Recovery – Possibilities and Limitations

Created on: 2007-06-01 17:28:06

“I can\'t begin to thank you enough for what you did for us. The prospect of re-entry was so overwhelming I nearly quit!! You saved my job!” - Teresa Lichay, Weston Park Primary School
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